My accountant finished my taxes yesterday!
Nothing to pay in the USA, and I’m getting a tidy refund from Germany.
I told one of my colleagues how much money I was getting back and he told me that it would be tax-free income–a highly accurate point!
Let me know if you’d like information about my accountant. He’s an expert at the intersection between German Tax Law and US Tax Law–able to balance both.
I hope your colleague is aware that this is not tax free income- it is a return of your own money that you have allowed the government to retain without earning interest. A different matter indeed.
Your accountant is doing my taxes again this year; hopefully mine come out like yours. 🙂
@G: I suppose in an abstract way you’re right, but realistically speaking, I believe in investing in infrastructure and I do not believe government is inherently evil–therefore, even though I overpaid the German government by a “tidy sum”, I hardly feel that it is a problem–quite frankly I would rather overpay Germany or the United States than underpay. Therefore, I view my refund as “tax free income”–it’s a bonus I can spend on something laterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…rrrrrrr
Paying taxes, for me, is an honor and civic duty.
@heather: good luck!
Adam, I think that paying my taxes is a duty and I have no problems with their amount. Somehow your implication is that I do.
But I am aware that my money belongs to me and if I wish to give it to the government as a gift (rather than pay my correct taxes), I assure you that in the US at least one can send that money over to pay down the deficit. However, I prefer to donate my own money to charities in which I have a specific interest rather than simply being negligent in understanding my tax rate. As an accountant who used to do taxes seasonally I understand that most people have no real understanding of the tax code but I think people should attempt to understand it: it’s really not that hard.